at conventions
I used to attend a number of science fiction conventions and collectibles shows. I had a strange problem with them, which is one of the reasons why I stopped attending many of them.
Although I didn't know about autism when I attended the cons in the 80s and 90s, I wonder if some of the other attendees were people with Asperger's. I know that people with Asperger's can be very, very focused. I don't know if this made some of the folks there imperceptible to others next to them, or if they had a different sense of personal space, or if it was just plain lack of peripheral vision.
But as the conventions became more popular and more crowded, I started having people running into me. Literally. I would be standing at a booth or table looking at "stuff" and someone would come up next to me without the slightest acknowledgement that I was there. The person would try to take over my "space" and never seemed to physically notice me at all. Sometimes by the end of the day I would have bruises on me from where people had jammed into me. Of course, I never got an apology.
After a number of incidents like this at cons and shows (different cities, different topics), I stopped going altogether. I couldn't deal with being black and blue!
I tried very hard to be patient at these events, but after several years of this odd situation continually worsening with no sign of improving, I had to quit attending.
I know these comments border on being politically incorrect, so if you need to delete them, it's fine. I am just curious to see if others had experienced this.
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